FOXTON

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 144, 20 June 1928, Page 20

FOXTON

m '■ DISTRICT'S PORT A EOMANTIC HISTORY FLAX-MILLING INDUSTRY on-the. northern bank of tho Manawatu Biver, four miles from tho sea, is the town of Foxton, one.of the oldest settlements in the Manawatu-district. From a smallvillage of under_ one hundred souls it has grown into a town with a population of close on: 2000." Foxton is the .centre of the' flax-milling industry, the possibilities of which it is impossible to foretell, and it serves the M;inawatu district as a.port. Like many another town in the Manawatu district, ,Foxton has a romantic history, and in the "tolling of it'it.is necessary to go back to the earliest days of the colonisation of New Zealand. The early settlers were ever on the outlook for fresh fields to conquer, and the fertile lauds of the Manawatu, as yet practically untouched by the hand of man, held out.a pleasing prospect. A few hardy pioneers had already blazed the trail, • and had brought back to Wellington, glowing reports of what the district had to offer to those willing to faco the hardships inevitably associated with pioneer work. It was early seen that in order to develop, the district as.it should be developed, it was essential that there should bo adequate means of commun-' cation. With the railway still of the future and with roads which, to say the least, were uncertain, tho necessity for a port was realised, and it was this necessity which caused eyes to bo turned towards Foxton- or, as tlie district was then known, Te Awahou. In the early days Te Awahou was a Native reserve, and pakehas were few and far between. A little prior to 1860, a Mr. Cook had shown considerable.enterprise in building a wharf at the Manawatu heads, and one or, two small ships had called there with provisions for the scattered settlers. In 1860 there was a notable event, Captain. Keiuiedy succeeded in negotiating the steamer Wogawonga across ■ the bar, and his success caused others to follow suit. All were not so^ successful as Captain Kennedy, for it is recorded that several boats were "caught in drifts and currents and very soon found themselves on the sand spit;'^However, the way had been paved, and the foundations of the port of Foxton had been well and truly'laid.'Before very long, the Provincial Government began to take an interest in tho Te Awahou block, and negotiations were opened up with the Maori owners for'the purchase of tho land. After some parleying—for th.o Maori is not to be bustled-^an agreement was arrived at, and the land, consisting of 37,000 acres, was purchased for the huge sum of £2500. The deposit paid was £400! That marked tho beginning of Foxton,.and tho little town started out on its career with a population of about. 100 people. Progress at first was slow, but later things began to move and the population grew. Ono of tho objects in founding Foxton had been to provide better means of access to the land that lay beyond, but until 1870—some ten years after the birth'of the town—little was done. The roads during the winter wero well-nigh impassable, and the settlers in the Ah.uaturanga block; which included the preseut'site of Palmerston North,-experi-enced lean times, for they wero practically dependent on the little town of Foxton. In 1870: a petition was forwarded to the. Provincial Govornment praying that a tramway should bo laid down-between Foxton and'the bush.settlement of Palmerston North, but the Government, for the time being financially embarrassed, did not grant tho petition until tho following year. The completion of the tramway lino was 'the turning point in the history of Palmerston North, and it also gave a big fillip ty the town of Foxton. In the years that followed, Foxton continued to make progress, but the coining of tho train did not have the same beneficial effect on the town as it had on Palmerston North. Merchants in the big Manawatu centre who had previously made use of the port turned more to the railway—as, indeed, in later years they have turned to the highways—and Palmerston North was no longer dependent on Foxton to such an extent as it had been. Had the railway taken another course, as it might easily have done and as some people still think it should do, there would have been, a different story to tell. Foxton. might well have' become the leading town of the Manawatu. AN UP-TO-DATE TOWN. But it should be understood that Foxton did not slump. Far from it, indeed! The town received a set-back, certainly, but it was well enough established to stand up to adversity, and to-day it is still holding its own. To the casual visitor, Foxton might give the impression that its days of prosperity are behind it, but beneath the surface there is ample evidence that Foxton still has a useful purpose to serve. Its people are made of the right stuff, and they take a pride in the town. The majority of the residents have lived there for the greater part of their lives, and there they aro prepared' to stay, for their confidence in the town is unbounded. That has been well demonstrated on several occasions, for it is rarely that the Borough Council has had to go out-; side the confines of Foxton when it has. been necessary to raise a loan for some municipal undertaking. In other directions, too,- the : people have not been, unwilling to invest their money. In its general appointments, Foxton is well served, and the people enjoy every possible comfort and convenience. The Borough Council controls the supply of both electricity and gas, and in both cases the town receives an excellent service. The gasworks wero purchased by the council some little timo ago for £11,000, the undertaking being acquired from a syndicate. The purchase money was raised by means of a special loan, the. interest charge being _J per cent, and tho "sinking fund 2 per cent. Gas ia supplied at the rate of 8s 9d per 1000 cubic feet, and this results in a slight loss to the council, the revenue being in the vicinity of £3000 a ; year and the expenditure in the vicinity of £3500 a year. The streets of the town, are lighted bj electricity, the service. consisting of fifty lamps, 'each, of which costs the council £3 17s 6d per annum. Within the borough there are fourteen miles of streets, and of these the principal streets have been paved. Main street is called upon to carry a good deal of traffic, as it forms portion of the main highway to. Wellington. Both the water supply system and tho drainage system are up to date. . The water supply is artesian, tho water being pumped by electric motor, to a water tower. , There are 7$ miies Of water mains, and the average pressure is '501b per square inch. A loan of £35,300 was raised iii order to supply tho town with water. In other directions, too, the town is well served. In 1926 tho Town Hall was rebuilt at a cost of £10,000 —raised in the district—and this has accommodation for 950 people. * It is mainly used as a picture theatre. There is a library with 1000 books, and the townspeople aro well catered for so far as reserves are concerned. In the way of entertainment, the Borough Council controls two picture theatres and it is the boast

of the council that it is ono of the few local bodies in Now Zealand that is able to show a profit on such undertakings. Sport plays a big. part in tho social life of tho community and tho Foxton racecourse, situated a few minutes from tho centre of tho town, is favourably '.known in all parts cf the Dominion. Other forms of spore also have their part in tho life of thr, community. . A SEASIDE RESORT. Without a doubt, one of tho big attractions of Foxton is its beach, and it is as a seaside resort that the,town will develop in-the future. Already the lure of the sea-has proved strong to many people living in nearby towns such, as Palmerston North, Feilding, and Levin, and in recent years numerous seaside residences have been erected at Alanawatu Heads. A fine oeaei'.—the finest in New Zealand, Fo_toii residents will tell.you—and a wondert'u- climate —again the finest in New Zealand, if the people of Foxton arc to bo believed—combine to . make Foxton an ideal place for a holiday, and tbe people of the town, as represented, by. the Borough Council, have not been slow to'see the possibilities'there are in. the development of this feature. By road Foxton is four miles from the sea, and. a good metal surface makes this, a'popular run with motorists.. It.is the intention of the council to later bitumini'se the road to the beach. Foxton beach is already, a popular seaside resort, and during the summer months there are regular excursions from-Palm-erston North and. the. surrounding towns. '..-., PORT FACILITIES. . Mention has been made already in this article .to the history of-the port of Foxton. Situated as it is, Foxton is the natural port for the whole of the Manawatu district, from Levin a's far north as Feilding, but as has already been indicated, thero' arc sever.'v factors working against the complete development of the harbour. One of the main factors is that: merchants m the inland towns find that it.is easier to secure their, requirements; either \< :i by train or by motor. To .such an extent have the main higlnyays been improved in recent years that it is possible for a merchant in Palmortt'on North to place an order in Wellington in the morning and have the goods delivered to him by motor service the same ev^r. ing. Very much the same applies in the. case of, the raiilway. On top, of that, transport by sea is not as safe and as sure as'transport by road and rail; by road and rail there is not- the same possibility 'of delay ;ythere is no bar to negotiate. Consequently, the use made of tho' port facilities fit Foxton is not as great as* it might be. However, quite a- fair amount of business is transacted at the waterfront at Foxton, and the' people of the district are.still hopeful that it will increase. At the present time two vessels—the-Port 1 land and the Kennedy—are frequent visitors to the port. The facilities provided at the port are quite good, and are sufficient to cope with the volume

[published by arrangement.]

of trade. There is a wharf GOO foot in length,, with a good'depth of water alongside, sufficient for vessels of from 150 to 450 tons gross. Recently tho board has' erected , a now goods shod with a storing capacity of 500 tons, and a new wharf, 87* feet in length, costing, together with the shed, about £4800. There is a two-ton portable crane for tho handling of goods. Prior to May, 1925, tho'wharf was controlled' by> the Railways' Department, but in the last few years complete control has been assumed by the Harbour Board, with beneficial effects. A proposal for a loan of £16,000 to enable the board to take charge was carried almost unanimously when submitted to the' ratepayers of tho district,, which comprises the Manawatu and Kairanga counties and the boroughs of Feilding, Palmerston North, Foxton, and Levin. Bach of these bodies is represented on the .board, tho chairman of which is Mr. J. Linklater, M.P. for the Manawatu district, i. Tho Foxton Harbour Board is richly endowed, the endow-, nients. comprising: (1) Frontages to the beach at Manawatu Heads, the area being subdivided into 232 sections varying in area from a quarter to half an acre; (2) a further area of 246 acres- which is being subdivided to meet tho ever-increasing demand for seaside sections; (3) ninety.acres of accretion land at the heads, on which the board has planted pinus insijpiis and macrocarpa trees; (4) . a portion of land which is leased for grazing and dairying purposes; (5) flax mills at Foxton, the ailnual rental of which amounts to over £500. / AN IMPORTANT INDUSTRY. Foxton is the centre of-the flax'industry, and it is this which is tho real mainstay of the town. During the busy part of the year close on 800 men are employed in tho flax mills in and around Foxton, and the majority of these men are permanent residents of the town. There was # time in the history of Foxton' when the flax season attracted a large number: of seasonal workers, many .of them not altogether desirable, to the town, and tales aro told of many untoward happenings in the old days. Happily, those days are of the past, and Foxton, even at the height of the season, is a quiet, peaceful spot. The flax season commences at the beginning of August, and lasts until the end of May. and during that time there is very little unemployr in the town. Tho other months of the year are' naturally quiet, but there is very little distress as the men know what to expect, and they make provision accordingly. Recently lean times have been experienced in tho flax industry^ and the market has reached bottom. has • naturally had an effect on the town of Foxton, but it is f olt that tho depression is but of ,a temporary nature, and that thero will be a speedy reurn to an era of prosperity. Science is ■■■ playing its part, and with .iniproved method* . of dealing with flax the outlook for the industry is becoming much brighter. Although undoubtedly tho mainstay, the flax industry is not the only one carried on in tho Foxton district. Dairying has its place, and in this there arc decided possibilities.' Much of the land in the district is second-class, and in the past the production from the land has been considerably below that of other districts-in the Manawatu. In recent years, however, the farmers have realised the importance of scientifically treating their land, and the advantages

of top-dressing havo hecomo apparent. One farmer informed tho writer that as a result of the treatment which he ' had given his land it was nbw carrying two and a half-cows moro to the acre than previously. 'If this ia true in one case it is probably truo in many other cases, and the general effect should advantageous to the district as a whole. , A PERSONAL NOTE. It is, perhaps, fitting that the present article dealing with the town of Foxton should conclude on a personal note. No town can progress or even hold its own unless it has the right men at the head of affairs, and in this "respect Foxton has been very fortunate. The Mayor of Foxtonjs-Mr. M. E. Perroau, and he has the very best interests of the borough, at heart. Ho is ever ready to talk Foxton, and he does it well. Mr. Perreau is a son of a very old' resident of Foxton, Mr. J. A. Perreau, who at the age of ninety-eight is still halo and hearty and proud of tho town of his adoption. Landing in New Zealand seventy-seven years, ago, Mr. Perreau, senior, .first settled in tho South Island. Later he took up land near Feilding, and finally settled in' Foxton, where ho entered business The present Mayor was also in business in Foxton for a number of years, but he has now, retired, and is devoting a great deal of time to the work of the borough. - Assoeiatod with Mr. Perreau on the council are. Messrs.. S. E. Cowley, F. Lucinsky, E. Parkin, C. C. Band,-,Koore Eangihehca (who- is also socrotary of the Harbour Board),- J. Eoss, C. Spring, R. J. Thompson, and ■'Mv H; Walker. The Town Clerk, treasurer, returning officer, and manager of •the Town Hall is Mr. W. Trueman; who is another warm advocate of:':Foxton. Under his regime, tho. affairs of tho Borough Council work very smoothly, and any resident of Foxton will ,be ready to .say that he: is.'tho''.right' man in the right place.. ...Aiio'Mior.r gentleman yivho takes a keen'interest in. the, welfare of Foxton is. Mr. J. K. Honiblow, the managing editor of the "Manawatu Herald." He represents the town on the , Palmerston 'North Hospital Board, and is chairman of the local school committee and tho Foxton Chamber of pommoreo. • j

[PUBLISHED BY ..ARRANGEMEjiITi] '.!,' y THE NEW WORKINGMEN'S ' OR: COSMOPOLITAN CLUB, Palmerston North, which, when completed, will be a handsome addition to the town. The new Club, which is costing £14,000 to erect, will Ibe opened early in July. The building was designed by Mr. ,E.> V. .Westy.tho ywell-Unpwn,' Palmerston North: architect..', y.. M.r.-;yP.; B. Torstonson' "■ was the' .contractor.■ Messrs.. Fleming and Co. installed "the. plaster walls''and ceilings. The Manawatu Plumbing Company installed tho central. heating system. Messrs. Holbcn andl' Hubbard, Ltd., carried out the electrical work throughout the building. Mr. H. Crouch the brick and concrete work, and it can be said to the .credit .of each, .firm . m'ent'ibne'd that it is one of tho best "jobs' in.Palm-: erston North, y Fourybeautifuryshops. are available iii 'this' fine building, application for which should bb jnade'.'to Mr. William Hunter, the^ secretary, Palmerston North. . ■ .. .."■'.